VLADIMIR HOVSEPYAN

Applicant of the Institute of Philosophy, Sociology and

Law of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59546/18290744-2025.7-9-17

Annotation.

After the abolition of the Bagratid kingdom in the first half of the 12th century, the eastern edge of Armenia became more independent politically, which dictated the need to create national legislation. The first to undertake this task was David’s son Alavki, who created a major monument of legal thought, which, although not officially approved by the state authorities of the time, was used in Armenian communities by both the clergy and community officials to regulate various legal issues.

The historical significance of David’s Rules lies in the fact that the first attempt at codification of legislation in Armenian reality was made, in which a number of progressive solutions for the time were given to issues arising in the fields of civil, criminal, labor relations and spiritual life.

The very fact that 44 years after the death of David’s son Alavka (1140), M. Gosh began writing his famous “Code of Laws”, a number of provisions of which were literally borrowed from David’s “Code of Laws”, proves not only that he had David’s works at hand, but also that this work was to be used within Armenia, in particular in its eastern region - in Artsakh and Utik.

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